Congress back in the reckoning: N Raghuveera Reddy

Being a Congressman in Andhra, even four years after State division, isn’t ‘viable’ for many. But N Raghuveera Reddy is a chip off the old block. Indebted to the party which enabled him to serve as a legislator for four terms and a minister for years -- by his own admission without having to lobby -- the 61-year-old soldiers on, holding fort when many have deserted the ship, like an “attendant in a mortuary” as his well-wishers put it. He believes the party isn’t dead and in fact, is convinced that State parties, be it TDP, Jana Sena or YSR Congress, will come to its doorstep within a few months. TNIE caught up with him at his modest two-bedroom guest house in Vijayawada for a “Breakfast Pe Charcha” on Congress prospects, alleged TDP overtures, Naidu government’s achievements and more. 

Several leaders quit the party, and yet, you have been a constant. Has the party regained strength?
We have achieved some satisfactory milestones. Immediately after elections, I had told Madam Sonia Gandhi that special category status will be the 2019 agenda. I had told her on June 1, 2014 itself. As I had predicted, now special status has become the main poll agenda. As for me, why should I leave the party? What for? I may retire. It is easy for me to criticise others but they have their reasons. I don’t have any. Having travelled for so long in this vehicle (Cong), it will be a compromised life in other  parties.

How do you see Congress prospects? Do you see it picking  up?
It is bound to. I don’t say that we will come to power as such. But we will make a mark. There are 30-40 constituencies where we can put up a fight. People were angry in 2014. In the last four years of struggle, am convinced that we have been able to change the mindset of the people to some extent. There is a feeling that the powers-that-be did not do justice to the State. It rankles more than the anger at division of the State. We have announced that the first file Rahul Gandhiji will sign on, will be that of special status to the State. Thanks to BJP and Modi also, they did not fulfil the promise.

Why do you think they did not?
See, from day one, it is a suspicious alliance between TDP and BJP. After the Godhra incident, the language that Chandrababu Naidu had used... no other political leader, including from the Congress, never used such language against Modi. He had demanded that Modi be sacked as Gujarat CM. He had asked the PM. Apart from that, Naidu had threatened to arrest Modi if he came to AP. How will Modi forget? They came together due to political compulsion or opportunism, not to protect State’s interests. Both of them strongly believe that if special status is given, public anger against the Congress will subside over time. I may say division has been good and cite all the good that has come out of it. So, the two leaders fear that if public anger is no longer there, Congress will bounce back. 

TDP chief attended the swearing-in of Karnataka CM and shook hands with Rahul Gandhi. Is there any possibility of the two parties coming together?
Naidu is in total confusion and frustration. Age is also not on his side. Somehow, he wants his son on the throne. He keeps on boasting and even claims he got the BJP defeated in Karnataka! It (getting close to Congress) may be on his mind. His aides are talking. They are not in touch with Congress but in their internal deliberations, they are discussing and want an alliance. Even during NTR time and since, no regional party was successful, is successful or will be successful without aligning with some other parties. Though Congress appears weak at this juncture, it continues to play a key role. The Left is no longer a force to reckon with. I am speaking of AP, it may be Naidu, Pawan or Jagan, it is inevitable for them to join hands with a national party. If they don’t, there will be a hung Assembly. BJP is finished in the State but Congress is still there. No party can align with the BJP. If they do, they will be burnt to ashes. All said and done, at the ground level, there is a feeling that Congress is better. I tell you, you will also be a witness to that. May be, all three parties, or at least two will be at our doorstep. That day will come. It is bound to come. In Nandyal, we brought a practising advocate to contest. Just three or four days before polling, Lagadapati Rajagopal revealed a survey report. I spoke to him. He said it was correct. The report said TDP was ahead, YSRC was behind by 10 per cent votes, and Congress will get six per cent votes, which means about 11000 votes. The same gentleman called the next day after polling, and said sorry you will get less than 2 per cent. I asked him why. He replied the TDP gave Rs 2,000, and Jagan party Rs 1,000 to each voter. Congress did not buy votes. Congress vote share varies from 2 to 30 per cent from constituency to constituency.

What will be the Congress strategy then?
How effectively can we go to the people? The obvious question is who can give special status. The Congress alone. The BJP has refused. TDP and Jagan party cannot. We will also bring petrol and diesel under GST. We have already passed a resolution. We will simplify GST. We will announce crop loan waiver like we did in 2009. I have listed all these, and if I go door-to-door, and say, ‘Look, this is the reality. Each party is asking 25 MP seats. How can that be? They could not give or get special status in the last four years. How can they bring it tomorrow? BJP has absolute majority now. Still, it hasn’t given us. Why will they do it next time?’ It is my personal opinion that we should contest alone in the State. Our leaders said we are prepared to go with anyone to defeat the BJP.

TDP is going against the BJP
TDP is going against Modi, not BJP. If he is indeed against the BJP, why is Naidu still employing Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s husband? What made him give TTD Board membership to a BJP minister’s wife? Behind the scenes, the connect still exists. Naidu is an embodiment of opportunism. The speculation surrounding his shake-hand with Rahul Gandhi is being promoted by both TDP and Jagan’s party. TDP for its own benefit and Jagan to claim that these two are coming together and that Naidu had earlier too joined hands with the Congress to put him in jail. Each has his own game.

If they do come to your doorstep, will you have an alliance?
They will be compelled to be at our doorstep. It is too early to speak about tie-ups. Unless we prove ourselves, it is not going to benefit either of us whoever wants to join hands with us Pawan, Naidu or anybody. I was waiting for our general secretary Oommen Chandy to come. A great man. His experience will help us. If we can reach out to one crore families with the message that Congress alone can deliver, definitely, we will make a mark.

So, you are not going to go soft on TDP?
Why should I? How can I kill my own organisation for his benefit? I don’t think it is possible. In Telangana, to revive their party, their leaders and workers are okay with an alliance with Congress. Here, many TDP leaders want alliance but the grassroots workers are not ready. Among Congress leaders, very few are okay with alliance. We cannot say what will happen in next six months. In West Bengal, CPM went with Congress. In Kerala, they fought against each other. Anything is possible. 

How can the Congress give special status when it is stitching together an alliance with regional parties, who may not agree?
We always say UPA government. We don’t have the BJP’s audacity. We brought 12 parties to Guntur. It is the commitment of the UPA, not just the Congress. They have given letters, went on record. All these 12 parties including RJD, SP, DMK, CPI, CPM, support special status to AP.

How are you rebuilding the party, given that many leaders and cadre left lock, stock and barrel?
It is a challenge, no doubt. Our membership is about eight lakhs even in this bad phase. We still have 90 per cent mandal committees.
 
What do you make of Pawan Kalyan?
Problem with him is he has no consistency. A politician should have consistency. I am consistent. A day will come when I will be right. Yes, he is doing something of late but if all go their own way, BJP may not get a single seat. Even if we go on our own, we will get a few seats. It will be a hung assembly. Post-poll scenario is unpredictable. In 2009, we got only seven seats more than TDP. Naidu sent envoys to Chiranjeevi seeking 18 seats. We have all witnessed it.

Is Chiranjeevi still in Congress? If so, will he face-off with his brother?
He is very much in Congress. He is going to campaign for us. He told me last week. He told Rahul Gandhi one month back. It is not a face-off. Each has his own way. See, I am a political animal since I was 9. I cannot do anything half-heartedly. If am having breakfast with you, I will have that is all. We are all different. Chiranjeevi came into politics at a wrong time. Had he come in 2014, he could have won 150 seats.

What is your take on the four years of Naidu government?
Media is giving him life. Beyond Kia Motors, what else did he achieve? Can he spell it out? He is equally responsible for this state of affairs. Had he fought with the BJP from day one, the Centre would not have done this kind of injustice. There is fault on both sides in the case of Polavaram too. It is a quid pro quo. TDP won’t ask for special status, BJP will let Naidu execute the project. It is a violation of the Act passed by Parliament which says that it shall be the responsibility of the Union government to execute the project. After 2019, you will see how we are going to complete Polavaram. The cost estimates of works were inflated. The chief secretary himself did not accept it but they bulldozed it in cabinet. They inflated the cost of all projects by Rs 38,000 crore or it could be even more. 

Finally, will you be leading the Congress into the 2019 elections?
Rahul Gandhi, after he became the party president, gave me an extension. I will continue at their pleasure or until I wish to. It is a national party. Even before he became president, I had volunteered myself and said I would resign so that he could form his own team. There is nothing permanent in politics. I have immense respect for Rahul Gandhi and Madam Sonia Gandhi. Today’s electoral politics has changed however. Money power has become very crucial. True, there are exceptions but we belong to a different generation. I contested six elections and won four without bribing voters. Now, is it possible? After being witness to Karnataka elections, there is a feeling in me that it is better to retire. I am very happy with my political career. I belong to a freedom-fighter’s family. I had never asked for anything and yet, the Congress gave me so much. 

Several well-wishers and friends were after me telling me to quit as PCC chief saying that it is like being an attendant in a mortuary. Still, I am happy. Congress may be weak but it is not dead. It is an honour to be PCC chief. Why should I plead guilty? Several factors and parties were responsible for State division. 

The State would have been in a different and better shape had the TDP and BJP worked together properly. But they won’t. They want to keep the Damocles Sword hanging over the head of the Congress in the State.